Let us make the coming New Year an occasion to resolve to liberate country from the evil zodiac!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The New Year, celebrated with great fervour by the Sinhalese and Tamil people, dawns on April 14, 2021. We want to add our congratulations to this cultural festival that many Sri Lankans celebrate, even though the covid-19 epidemic is still not over.
According to traditional astrology, the New Year\u2019s dawn is when the sun moves from Pisces to Aries to complete a cycle. The New Year festival, which is believed to be new and connected in every way, creates a social phenomenon that positively affects this country’s people. It allows people to get rid of clutter in their home, fill it with freshness, and rethink their journey so far.
The 2021 Sinhala and Tamil New Year marks the second year in a row that the coronavirus has hit Sri Lanka and the entire world. There is no doubt that in this challenging environment where the disease still exists in society, we have to go beyond the traditional New Year celebrations and celebrate the New Year in a healthy way. It means understanding that in a country where there has not been enough vaccination against covid-19, the New Year activities have to be limited to family members and loved ones.
On the other hand, even the thought of celebrating the New Year can be a painful experience for many people as it becomes a daily challenge to sustain life in an increasingly challenging economic environment. It is because the governments of Sri Lanka that have existed for the last 73 years, including the present government, have failed to meet the basic needs of the people and to solve the problems of the people, and this unfortunate process would be extended by another year.
As usual, the New Year, which dawns amidst new hopes, turns into the old year and passes, shattering the people’s expectations. It is because past and present governments have driven Sri Lankan society into a vicious cycle of frustration. No one can deny these regimes’ contribution to the economic and social suffering of the country and its people. Today, these governments have failed to provide at least a non-toxic diet for the people. This situation is so deplorable that the government cannot guarantee that even coconut oil, which is an integral part of the food culture associated with the New Year, is non-carcinogenic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In such a situation, the coming New Year, which completes a cycle, should be made an opportunity to liberate the country from the evil zodiac and move towards a new cycle that will truly solve people’s problems. These rulers have no alternative economic strategy to deal with the economic crisis other than the neo-liberal economic system that has taken the country on a disastrous journey. They seek temporary solutions to pay off the day by selling state property, natural resources to foreign countries and foreign companies, by sacrificing the environment, by plundering from loans and grants.
The failed socio-economic, political system has forced us to move away from this socio-economic system as soon as possible and move more quickly towards a just society with humanitarian and environmental ties. In such an environment, we hope that the New Year, which is expected to be new in every field, will add to the hope of building a new socio-economic system. In particular, the country’s 73-year failed journey, and the current government’s failure has opened the door for the people to reflect on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is needed to make the New Year truly happy is for most people to break free from the degenerate attitudes they had embraced so far and forge a new resolve to embark on a new journey. We also hope that the coming New Year will give a new impetus to line up for a new political journey that will take the country and the people towards real victories, build a new society and make it an object of national unity of a single Sri Lankan nation.
Anura Dissanayake
Leader
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
13.04.2021<\/p>\n